Terps Too Much For Tigers

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Clemson had one big run in it Tuesday night. Unfortunately, Maryland had two.
After the Tigers whittled a 17-point deficit to just five by the half, the Terrapins exploded out of the gates in the second half and rolled to a 91-52 victory. The loss snaps Clemson's three-game ACC winning streak.
The Terps have won their last two games by a combined margin of 79 points.
Maryland (18-7, 10-4 ACC) opened the second half with a 32-6 run, keyed by three straight 3-point baskets by senior point guard Steve Blake. The Terrapins hit nine of their 12 3-point baskets in the second half.
After scoring just 52 points in their win at Clemson (15-9, 5-8) earlier this year, Maryland scored 55 in the second half alone Tuesday night.
"We hit a tidal wave in the second half and a barrage of 3's," said Clemson head coach Larry Shyatt. "The disappointing part of that was they were open 3's. They were in transition, over helping in some cases, and some pretty good passing by Maryland. Nonetheless, they were wide open 3's. In fact, the only contended 3 I remember was that clutch by some guy at the end of the game, and he missed. But they made them, and clearly that divided the game and separated us light years away."
Meanwhile, Clemson never found an offensive rhythm. The Tigers shot just 33 percent from the field (20-of-61), including a 2-of-17 (12 percent) night from behind the 3-point arc. Maryland hit 34-of-54 (63 percent) from the field.
"We have a lot of difficulty matching people's points, especially if they are making 3's at the time, because we are not a 3-point shooting team. It kind of multiplies that separation."
Ryan Randle led Maryland with 18 points, while Blake added 14. Drew Nicholas and Jamar Smith added 13 each.
Sharrod Ford topped Clemson with 14 points, followed by Edward Scott with 11 and Chey Christie with 10.